What is the relationship between the Unified Carrier Registration System (“UCRS”) established under SAFETEA-LU §4304 and the UCRA?
Despite their similar names, UCRS and UCRA have little to do with one another, and the timetables for their implementation are not dependent upon one another. In addition to creation of the UCRA, the Unified Motor Carrier Act of SAFETEA-LU addresses the consolidation of a number of the currently separate motor carrier databases maintained by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”) into a single on-line system to be known as the UCRS. The UCRS, which under SAFETEA-LU is to be established during 2006, but may in fact require more time to complete, is a federal computer system of motor carrier data. The UCRA is a base-state system administered by federal and state governments and by the motor carrier industry for the collection of fees levied on motor carriers and related entities. It is anticipated by some that future state enforcement of the UCRA may be accomplished by accessing carrier data stored in the UCRS, but the mechanism for doing this is not yet established, a
